Electric refrigerator



June 19, 1928.

F. S. WOOD ET AL ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR Filed May 22. 1926 l mie nfa s,FwankSWooll, HOZPOZOZ FWo 0 0.7,-

Patented June 19, 1928.

-- UNITED STATES FRANK S.'WOOD AND HAROLD P. WOOD, F BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR.

. Application filed ma 22, 1926. Serial No. 110,938.

Our invention relates to refrigerating devices wherein theheat-extraction is performed by means of the vaporization of liquids andtheir return to their normal liquid condition by means-of suitablemechanical instrumentalities.

he object of our invention is to provide a refrigerator complete'initself, capable of giving the maximum storage space for a minimumexterior,

general, to improve the refrigerator in important detalls ofconstruction and arrangement.

To provide the largestlpossible storage- The other featuresof ourinvention will be set forth in thecourse of the general description ofthe refrigerator. 1 In the drawings forming a part of thisspecification, Fig. 1 is a front sectional elevation of a refrigeratorembodying our improvements. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation. Fig. 3is a perspective view of the fluid tank. Fig. 4 is a cross section on alarger scale of the refrigerant condenser.

The refrigerator chest 1 is of well known construction, but is providedwith an apartment 2 below its the electric operating mechanism andapparatus. \Vithin the chest proper is located a fluid tank comprising abody 5' close beneath the ceiling of the chest, having depending hollowarms 6 near the sides of the chest; the arms and body being composed ofmetal and made liquid-tight. The fluid tank is in approximately theshape of an inverted U, as viewed from the front, and is designed to befilled with brine, or water carrying a proper amount of alcohol. In thebody portion 5 is an expansion chamber 4 and a coil of pipe 7 designedto receive the refrigerant, which is preferably methyl chloride.

to obtain the highest efii'ciency and economy in operation, and, in.

instead of adapting the:

radiating ribs 15,

floor 3 for the reception of,

To prevent the dripping upon food below of the moisture condensing uponthe body portion5, shields 8 are supported close beneath the same,suitably inclined to deliver any condensate into a drip-trough 9; Asimilar drip-trough 10 is provided for each of the branches 6.

The means for delivering the refrigerant to the expansion chamber 4 andcoil 7 consists of a compresser 11 actuated by an electric motor 12designed forlow: speed in order to be directly connected to the plunger13 thereof; a condenser-comprising a thin walled cylinder 14 havingradiating .ribs 15; a coil of large tubing 16 within this cylinder andhaving a coil 17 of smaller tubing within it. The compresser 11 isconnected by a pipe 18 with the cylinder 14 to force the refrigerantinto the latter. The inner end of the coil 16 is open to permit thecontents of the cylinder to be driven through it past a check valve 22into the receiver 23, and thence up through a pipe 24 into the expansionchamber 4 and coil 7.

The vapor from the coil 7 descends through a tube 19 to a coil 20 withina water tank 21, and thence on down to pass through an end of thecondenser and to connect with the small coil 17, the other end of whichemerges from the tubing 16 and passes through-a pipe 19 to thecompressor 11 by which its contents are compressed and forced into thecylinder. 14 through the pipe .18; thus completing the cycle.

The cylinder 14 being filled with the refrigerant which is partiallycooled by its and the coil 17 containing comparatively cold refrigerant,that within the cylinder as it escapes through the large coil 16 becomesvery much colder, and passes on'to perform its refrigerating function ina suitably condensed and cold condition.

At any erably within the sub-apartment 2, is an electrically controlledneedle valve 28 of well known construction, which is controlled throughthe agency of a thermostat 25 located in contact with the pipe 19;whereby the temperature of the refrigerant at the completion'of its workis caused to switch current to the needle valve, so that if thetemperature is too hi h, the vapor is permitted to pass on up the tube24; and if too low, the valve closes.

By thus intermittentlyoperating the valve to control the temperature ofthe refrigerant desired point of the tube 24, pref- Ill ' chest than ispossible with the in accordance with the requirements of the contents ofthe chest 1, we are able to secure a far more equal temperature withinthe pressurecon'trolled devices now in use.

Through the great increase in refrigerating surface made possible by thearchshaped fluid-tank, its cooling function is correspondingly renderedof maximum efficiency; the same shape providing maximum space for thereception of food and other perishables, while permitting acomparatively small size of chest.

For the larger sizes of refrigerators, we prefer to connect with thebody5, additional to the branchesfi, another branch 6 at the back of thesame, as shown in Fig. 2, in order to give increased refrigeratingeffect; but for the medium sized chests we use the two branches-6 only;while for the small sizes, we may use the rear branch 6 alone.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the receiver 23 is connected. withanair-cushion chamber 32, whereby, upon the ppening of the needle valve28 by the action of the thermostat 25, the liquid held back by the valvewill in stantly be thrown on up into the tube 24, instead of stopping atthe valve. The air chamber is, therefore, a very important adjunct tothe needle valve and its controlling thermostat. I

We have discovered that a flatly extended vertical brine chamber havingthe refrigerating means in its upper portion, is much more efficientthan a compact brine chamber of equal-capacity. While this is, ofcourse, partly due to the increased surface exposed to the refrigeratingspace'by its exterior, we find that it is largely owing to the increasedquickness of circulation given tothe brine within. This more rapidcirculation is caused by the quickerwarming of the liquid in the lowersection of the ,vertical chamber and its consequent more urgent rise,and the more rapid circulation- It is apparentlysimilar tolthe fact thatthe higher the chimney, the greater the draft. The result of the rapidcirculation is a more efiicient refrigeration of the 'food adjacentthereto. We also find that by having the vertical chambers 6approximately wedge-shape, with their thinner portions below,thisquickness of circulation is still further increased.

The reason why the circulation of the ture, especially when it isa truebrine and contains a large proportion of salt; and by thus increasingthe circulation, heat is absorbed from the contents-of the chest morerapidly, and the required 103v temperature obtained more efliciently andwith a lessened consumption of electric power. Another advantage securedby the wedgeshape of the sections or arms 6 is this: The outer surfacesbeing entirely vertical where they are adjacentthe walls of the chest,the surfaces of the parts 6, next to the contents of the chest, overhangthe points thereof below, whereby as the air within is chilled by itscontact with the inclined surfaces, it can descend without frictionalinterference with surfaces below. At the same time, the ascendingcurrents of warmer air can reach the inclined surfaces at the uppersections thereof with lessened interference with the descending chilledair. Consequently, not only is there more perfect circulation of thebrine within the tank, but abetter circulation of air in the chest, andhence a more efiicient refrigerating action.

\Vhat we claim as our invention is:

In a domestic refrigerator, the combination of a chest, and ajankcomprising a horizontally extended portion close beneath the top of thechest, and thin flatly extended port-ions descending from the lateraledges of the first-named portion close to the sides of the chest, allsaid portions being in communication with each other and adaptedto befilled with a refrigerating liquid and theupper portion having coolingmeans within

